Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Patience: an ability or willingness to suppress restlessness
or annoyance when confronted with delay.

I
rush into the Walmart Supercenter. It’s noisy and crowded, and I hate being
here. I’ve allowed 11 and a half minutes for this transaction at the cell phone
center just inside the north doors.

I
don’t notice Jenny at first, although she’s the only sales clerk in the center. I think she’s sitting,
but realize that she’s actually standing, holding a phone to her left ear. She’s barely 5 feet tall, probably about 25. She wears no makeup, and her short, frizzled
brownish-red hair looks like it got about 30 seconds of her time this morning.
She’s wearing no-name jeans, worn white tennis shoes and the Walmart blue vest.
In a roomful, Jenny is one of the invisible people.

I
fidget, waiting for her to get off the phone. “I need to make changes to my
account, and I’m kind of in a hurry,” I tell her. She smiles and lifts her right
hand to acknowledge me. As soon as she ends the call, I offer an overall excellent 30-second summary – including bullet points – of my situation.

Most people will only wait about eight
seconds for a web page to load.

She
listens, then smiles again. “I’m new to this department, so I’m still learning
about everything.” I glance around. This is when I usually ask for a
supervisor. But there’s no one else anywhere close.

“I’ve
been with the company for five years, and they’ve made me a manager over here,”
she continues proudly.

If you commute, you will be stuck in traffic for about 38
hours in 2015. The average is about 90 hours if you live in Los Angeles, Washington
D.C. or Houston.

Looking
into her brown eyes is like making eye contact with a stray dog in the front
yard.

Jenny
pulls out the keyboard for the clunky desktop computer and starts the search
for my account. “How do you spell your last name?”

Sigh. “The regular way.”

She
taps slowly on the keyboard, then leans back in the office chair. Her feet dangle as she watches the screen. “It’s really
slow today,” she says, looking up at me.

In 2015, you will spend about 13 hours of your life on hold. I’m pretty sure I
will use all my hours listening to ABBA and other what-was-once-cool music while
waiting for a Cox Communications representative to pick up the phone.

Jenny
is so new to the job that the teacher in me takes over. I explain differences
between browsers, type in information, look up contact numbers, adjust her
chair, complete her section of the paperwork. Even though the instructions for
the transaction are on the screen in front of her, Jenny consults her (very
patient) co-worker every two minutes. “I
just want to be sure that I’m doing it right,” she says.

After
43 minutes, I sink into the black plastic chair. Jenny is in the middle of an
online chat with Justin at Verizon. She pecks out “thank you” and responds “welcome”
– pausing to correct the typos – each time Justin answers a question about
my account. She ends their discussion with a cheery “Hope you have a great day!!!” “Thanks,”
he types. “Welcome!!!” Jenny responds.

You will spend about three days waiting
in line in 2015. Take a tent and a good book if you go to the Department of
Motor Vehicles or the Social Security office.

The
contract papers print at the 58-minute mark. I grab them and turn toward the
pet supplies department. I look over my shoulder and say the most polite
response I have for someone who was of no use to me. “I appreciate your help.”

“If
you bring back your groceries, I can check you out over here,” Jenny says.

Her offer rolls
over me, but after I buzz through the self-check line, I walk by the cell phone
center. She’s still sitting at the computer. I slow down and make eye contact.

It only takes a moment.

“Thank
you, Jenny,” I say.

She
looks up. “Have a good day, sweetie!”

“But for that very
reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus
might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in
him and receive eternal life.” 1 Timothy 1:16 (NIV)